Lily James says she won't star in 'Downton Abbey' movie

Actor Lily James has confirmed she would not be reprising her role as Lady Rose MacClare in the forthcoming "Downton Abbey" film.

It was confirmed last week that the popular series was being made into a film and producers have said that the entire original cast will be taking part in the big screen adaptation.

''My character Rose moved off to New York, so it would be farfetched to bring her back. I would have loved to have come back for a scene, but for a movie, it can't be like a Christmas special and it needs to be a focused storyline. There was simply no space for Rose," James told People magazine.

The 29-year-old actor, who was part of the series from 2010 until 2015 , said she had ''months'' to get her head around the fact she would not be joining her castmates and is ''so excited'' to see her friends Laura Carmichael and Michelle Dockery reprise their roles.

''I spoke to Laura not long ago and was texting Michelle about Love Island and it's going to be really exciting. And the whole gang is coming back.''